Ah?
Mrs. Qi didn't expect Yang Haiyan to ask so directly.What should she say?
Seeing her silence, Yang Haiyan smiled slightly.
"Mrs. Qi, by bringing this up, isn't she trying to tell me who's gossiping, but rather to make fun of my gossip?"
Mrs. Qi's heart tightened. Mrs. Qin was the captain's wife. How could she dare to make fun of her gossip in front of her? Wouldn't that just make her an enemy? Mrs. Qi stammered, "In other words, you're a spendthrift woman, an old hen that can't lay eggs."
Yang Haiyan's smile remained, but her eyes darkened. While she didn't want to have children for the time being, who was it for others to criticize her?
She hated those who, even though they were women themselves, still criticized women for what they were not. From ancient times to the present, such people were always present.
Mrs. Lu hurried to comfort him: "Don't take it to heart. They have their mouths on them, so we can only let them do what they want."
Yang Haiyan smiled and said, "Some people's mouths are too big. They need to be sewn shut to stop them from talking nonsense."
Mrs. Qi shrank back in fear. "Sew the mouth shut?With thread? This is too horrible!"
Seeing Mrs. Qi like this, Yang Haiyan didn't give up.
How did Mrs. Qi know all that gossip? Did she just overhear it? If she did, no one would say such things in front of her. She saw that Mrs. Qi was a big mouth. Yang Haiyan wouldn't be polite to someone like that. "Mrs. Qi, I wonder who told you these things?"
Mrs. Qi smiled. "Mrs.Qin, I just overheard it. I forgot who was saying it."
She regretted getting on the carriage, and she also regretted saying it. She thought Mrs. Qin was definitely not someone who could get along with easily. She shouldn't have spoken so hastily just now.
Of course, Yang Haiyan wouldn't let her get away with it like that; the county town was still a long way off. Her face darkened. "It seems Madam Qi is taking my gossip for granted; otherwise, she wouldn't be able to explain it. My husband is a seventh-rank captain, after all. I'd like to ask Captain Qi if it's justified for his wife to gossip about her superiors' families behind their backs."
Mrs. Qi was shocked when she heard this. Given her husband's temper, if he knew about this... she couldn't imagine what would happen. Mrs. Qi immediately said, "Mrs. Qin, I was just talking nonsense. I was just talking nonsense. If you don't want to make a fuss about it, I..."
"Chen Private Guard, stop the car."
Chen Dashi stopped the car.
Yang Haiyan said coldly, "Mrs. Qi, please get off the carriage. I don't like riding in a carriage with someone who uses me as a source of gossip."
Mrs. Qi's lips trembled: "I... I..."
Yang Haiyan continued, "When my husband comes back in the evening, I will ask him to visit Qi Baifu.Even if he is not on duty at night, we will always see him in the military camp tomorrow."
What she meant was, don't run away.
When Mrs. Qi heard this, she almost fainted: "Mrs.
Qin, I..."
Yang Haiyan: "Aunt Fan, take that person away."
Aunt Fan said loudly, "Yes, ma'am." Aunt Fan was a cook and had been holding a knife all year round, so she was quite strong. And since Madam Qi was in a trance, she easily helped Madam Qi get off the carriage.
After Mrs. Qi was pulled off the carriage and it had gone far away, she came to her senses and desperately chased after it: "Mrs. Qin, please listen to my explanation, Mrs. Qin..." But how could a person's two feet be as fast as a carriage's four wheels? In the end, Mrs. Qi was paralyzed on the ground, and it was too late to regret.
Not to mention Madam Qi, even Madam Yang and Sister Lu were still confused. It was not until this moment that they truly realized that the woman in front of them was the wife of a thousand-man commander, not just a centurion's wife like them.
It was Sister Lu who felt the most deeply. After all, Yang Haiyan had been close to her when she first married. She thought Yang Haiyan had a good personality, was intelligent, and was young. Besides, they were both centurions' wives. Later, when Qin Fang was promoted, Yang Haiyan's personality remained the same, so Sister Lu never took Yang Haiyan's status seriously.
It wasn't until this moment that Mrs. Lu finally took things seriously. A thousand-man captain and a centurion captain are different, and so are the wives of thousand-man captains and centurion captains.
With just one sentence, Yang Haiyan had Mrs. Qi kicked off the carriage. No, she was dragged off by servants; she didn't have the nerve to do that. Mrs.Qi would be afraid of Qin Fang questioning her because he was a thousand-man captain and a military commander. But would Mrs. Qi be afraid of Lu Zhide questioning her? No, because Lu Zhide and Qi Baifu were both centurions. To put it bluntly, they were just leaders among the soldiers, without any imperial military status.
Mrs. Lu calmed herself down, then suddenly had an idea: should she tell Yang Haiyan about what she had heard that day?
If nothing else, since Qin Fang was her husband's superior, telling Yang Haiyan would be good for their family. If Qin Fang became a guerrilla general, wouldn't the vacant position of captain of a thousand men be a possibility for her husband?
For the first time, Sister Lu faced the reality of power, and for the first time, she wanted to find hope for her man. Centurion and thousand-man commander, centurion's wife and thousand-man commander's wife, a thought flashed in Sister Lu's eyes.
The carriage fell silent. From the moment Mrs. Qi was dragged off the carriage until the county town, no one spoke. When they arrived at the county town, Yang Haiyan said, "Mrs. Yang, Sister-in-Law Lu, I'm going to deliver the goods. Let's part here and meet here later."
Mrs. Yang and Mrs. Lu naturally had no objection, and they got off the carriage.
After getting off the carriage, Mrs. Yang breathed a sigh of relief: "I was scared to death in the carriage just now." In addition to being scared, she also felt other things in her heart.
Mrs. Lu smiled and said, "That's right." She was also frightened.
The carriage arrived at Shopkeeper Ping's shop.
Yang Haiyan got off the carriage and saw
Shopkeeper Ping standing at the door. "Shopkeeper, you're here really early."
Shopkeeper Ping said, "There are a lot of people at the market today. If there aren't enough snacks to sell today, I'll have my servants tell you and we'll increase the quantity tomorrow."
Yang Haiyan said: "Then I wish you a prosperous business."
Shopkeeper Ping: "Thank you for your kind words."
After leaving Manager Ping's shop, Yang Haiyan and Aunt Fan went to the market. They bought quite a bit of stuff. However, they weren't buying goods from peddlers, but rather items made by ordinary people in Qi. For example, the cloth and shoes made by ordinary people themselves were just as good as those in the shops, and the prices were even cheaper. After buying a lot, Yang Haiyan sent Aunt Fan away, telling her to pack her things and load them onto the carriage while she waited for her.
When Aunt Fan returned, she saw Yang Haiyan carrying a freshly bought basket filled with a number of items. Many of them were seeds, such as winter melon seeds, cucumber seeds, and pumpkin seeds. The exact timing of planting these seeds and their success would need to be determined before they could be taken back to the countryside for Niu Da to study. Since it was her first planting, she would need to test a small number of seeds.
Speaking of which, in this world, when grandma was still alive, all the vegetables in the house were grown by her. However, Yang Haiyan was young at that time, and as time went by, she had forgotten what to plant in what season.
Yang Haiyan's main purpose of coming here today was to "buy" seeds. After buying them, she followed the aroma and bought a roast duck.
When they got back to the carriage, Mrs. Yang and Mrs. Lu were already waiting. They didn't buy as much as Yang Haiyan, but they were also fast at buying things, just like they were in battle, so they moved quickly.
Seeing Yang Haiyan coming back, Mrs. Lu said,"The things in this market are several coins cheaper than usual."
Yang Haiyan said: "That's right, that's why it's most cost-effective to buy things at the market."
Mrs. Yang said, "Things are cheaper, but more people are buying them. For the shopkeepers and stall owners, it's not a loss; they're definitely making more money."
Yang Haiyan said: "Small profits but quick turnover."
The term "small profits but quick turnover" sounds unfamiliar, but Mrs. Lu and Mrs. Yang also understand its meaning.
What happened in the morning seemed as if it had never happened.
On the way, everyone chatted occasionally and then arrived at the family quarters.
Yang Haiyan: "Aunt Fan, cut half of the roast duck and save the other half for eating in the evening when the adults come back." I don't know if the roast duck in ancient times was delicious, but it smelled very delicious.
But when it came time for lunch, Yang Haiyan felt that the ancient roast duck was tastier than the modern roast duck. Perhaps it was because... the ancient roast duck was more authentic.
Just after lunch, the gatekeeper Chen Dashi came to report that Mrs. Qi had arrived.
Yang Haiyan raised her eyebrows: "She's here?
Please come to the study."
In fact, what Yang Haiyan did to Mrs. Qi today was just to scare her, but she didn't expect her to come.
Mrs. Qi followed Chen Dashi timidly to the main courtyard, and then Chen Dashi turned back to guard the gate.
Nanny Lian met Madam Qi at the main courtyard gate: "Hello, Madam Qi. This old servant is Nanny Lian, who is by my wife's side. My wife is waiting for you in the study."
Mrs. Qi said, "Hello, Aunt Lian. Please...please lead the way." This wasn't Mrs. Qi's first time in the Qianfu's house. Qi Baifu's boss was also a Qianfu captain, so she had been to that captain's house before. However, it was completely different from the Qin Qianfu's house here.
Well, the house was the same size, but the captain's wasn't as elaborate, nor did he have so many servants. When she came in just now, she saw the long rows of courtyards over there (the servants' courtyard). Then there were the private guards and the maids. The sheer size of the place frightened her, and her legs went weak.
Nanny Lian brought Madam Qi to the door of the study: "Madam, Madam Qi is here."
Yang Haiyan said, "Please come in, Aunt Lian, and prepare the tea."
Aunt Lian: "Yes."
Mrs. Qi walked in alone and saw Yang Haiyan sitting at the desk with a book in front of her. Mrs. Qi forced a smile and said, "Hello, Mrs. Qin. Are you...are you reading a book?"
Yang Haiyan said, "Mrs. Qi, please take a seat and read the laws of Qi State. Learn more about them.You can use them to protect yourself. For example, if you know who has offended you, you can report them directly to the authorities."
Mrs. Qi's steps trembled and she almost fell down.